Special needs | Lessons from my daughter

With a rate of 1 in approximately 50,000 birth, Cri du Chat randomly appears 7 or

8 times per year in Canada. In a country covering 9.985 million squared km, these 7 or 8 babies can be really far away for one another.

For us, when Emily was little, it meant no other families were near by.

For us in 1999 when she was diagnosed, it meant that our only source of information was a really slow internet connection.

Fast forward to today, the internet is faster, facebook is full of support groups and many bloggers out there raising awareness.

I am one of these bloggers!

Cri du Chat Syndrome is characterized at birth by a high pitched cry, low birth weight, poor muscle tone, microcephaly, and potential medical complications.

Cri du Chat Syndrome is also called 5p- (5 p minus) Syndrome.

The term “5p-” is used by geneticists to describe a portion of the short arm (p) of chromosome number 5 that is missing.

Cri du Chat Syndrome is a spectrum disorder.

Children born with this rare genetic defect will most likely require ongoing support from a team of parents, therapists, and medical and educational professionals to help the child achieve his or her maximum potential.

Find more about about Cri du Chat syndrome at 5p- Society

If you’ve been following our blog for awhile, you know Emily is not defined by her syndrome!

Over the week, I will do my best to tell you more about Cri du Chat Syndrome!

We have a facebook page: If you want short updates and timely pictures of the little things that are happening in our life, please like and follow Lessons from my daughter‘s page.

You can also find me on Twitter at @plebrass

I am on Pinterest too: Lessons from my Daughter

#CriduChatAwareness

Here we are, last day of April.

Emily and I completed our A to Z challenge.

It didn’t go exactly like we planned but we did it, we posted 26 posts and just in case you missed some, here they are!

A to Z Challenge – Day 1 – A – American Girl Dolls – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 2 – B – Books – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 3 – C – Cri du Chat Syndrome – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 4 – D – Ducks – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 5 – E – Emily – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 6 – F – Funny – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 7 – G – Giraffe – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 8 – H – Hakuna Matata – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 9 – I – Imagination – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge -Day 10 – J – Justin Bieber – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 11 – K – Kite

A to Z Challenge – Day 12 – L – Love – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 13 – M – Music – A story about Emily going to her first concert

A to Z Challenge – Day 14 – N – NoFeet, Emily’s snake!

A to Z Challenge – Day 15 – O – Olympia – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 16 – P – Puppies – A story from Emily

A to Z Challenge – Day 17 – Q – Quality – A hug, a kiss, a cuddle…

A to Z Challenge – Day 18 – R – Recollection – A story about Emily’s amazing memory

A to Z Challenge – Day 19 – S – Surgeries – A short story about Emily’s 3 surgeries

A to Z Challenge – Day 20 – T – Tenacity – A blog linking to some previous posts about tenacity

A to Z Challenge – Day 21 – U – Uniform – A picture of Emily’s uniforms

A to Z Challenge – Day 22 – V – Victory – A story about Emily conquering one of her fear

A to Z Challenge – Day 23 – W – White – Our love story with Skechers shoes

A to Z Challenge – Day 24 – X – Xylophone – A story of perseverance

A to Z Challenge – Day 25 – Y – Yummy – A post about food, full of our favorite dishes

A to Z Challenge – Day 26 – Z – Zoo – A post full of picture

Emily wrote half of the posts!

We have a facebook page: If you want short updates and timely pictures of the little things that are happening in our life, please like and follow Lessons from my daughter‘s page.

You can also find me on Twitter at @plebrass

I am on Pinterest too: Lessons from my Daughter

Find more about about Cri du Chat syndrome at 5p- Society